Arizona's Birtherpalooza Canceled Over Low Ticket Sales

Not even the promise of crooner Pat Boone singing oldies from a spinning stage could save what was intended to be the premier birther event of the year later this month in Arizona.

Organizers of the gala, which would have featured Boone alongside Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and some of the nation's other prominent conspiracy theorists, broke the news online Friday that it was canceled "due to inadequate ticket sales."

The Sept. 22 event was meant to bring together people from throughout the nation who believe Barack Obama's birth certificate is fake and therefore he is ineligible to be president. Organizers planned to use it to call on Congress to take up Arpaio's yearlong investigation into the documents.

The announcement was disappointing to the few people who did plan to attend, as evidenced by a handful of web postings about the cancellation. It didn't take long for true believers to spin elaborate conspiracy theories about why the event was called off.

One theory could be found on the Facebook page of Linda Bentley, an Arizona tea party activist who had been promoting the event. A visitor to her page wrote that it had been doomed because Arpaio was unwilling to take his probe even further and investigate the president for murder.

"The REASON the EVENT by Sheriff Joe & his Cold Case POSSE was CANCELLED is because the Sheriff & others are TOO DUMB to SEE the MURDERS Barack Obama had his Security Adviser John Brennan commit on Obama's Gay Lovers in Chicago," the visitor wrote.

Besides Boone and Arpaio, the event was also set to feature former Army Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin, who was court martialed and sentenced to six months in military prison for disobeying orders to deploy to Afghanistan. Lakin refused to go because he said he didn't believe Obama was in office legitimately.

The venue, Celebrity Theatre, would have featured seating in the round and a spinning stage in the center. It normally hosts more mainstream events like concerts for touring rock bands. But the nature of this event obviously took some explaining for the owners. Even before the cancellation, the theater posted a disclaimer on the event's listing page.

"Celebrity Theatre does not endorse any political party," it said. "The views and opinions of this event do not state or reflect those of the Celebrity Theatre, its partners or sponsors."

About The Author

Nick Martin is an associate editor at TPM in New York City. He came to the site in 2011 as a reporter for TPMMuckraker. Previously, he worked in Arizona, first as a staff reporter for a local newspaper and later as a freelance journalist. He also ran the news blog Heat City. Contact him at nick@talkingpointsmemo.com